The Collection
"The Collection" is the sixth episode of the first season, and the sixth episode in the series overall. It was written by executive producer Graham Yost and directed by Rod Holcomb. It first aired on April 20, 2010. A wealthy man seemingly commits suicide on a luxurious Kentucky horse ranch, and Raylan must hunt for his missing art collection while resisting the advances of his attractive widow. Plot Synopsis Raylan turns to an art collector to help bring a criminal to justice, but the case soon turns to a murder investigation. Meanwhile, Raylan's ex-wife turns to him for help, and he turns to Boyd Crowder to gather dirt on his father. Recap Raylan visits Boyd in prison. Once again, the criminal goes on and on about his "ministry" before Raylan interrupts him with a question about Arlo. "I want to know everything you know about what he's up to," Raylan says. Boyd warns Raylan that he would do better to worry about his immortal soul — and he might have a point. Raylan is one violent dude. Later, a half-naked Ava awakens a fully naked Raylan. The two are sharing a hotel bed again — and the topic of living together arises. "You're tarnished with the dark stain of D-I-V-O-R-C-E," Ava jokes. The talk soon turns serious, though — as some of the men who made Ava's past life so miserable are soon due to be released from jail. "I ain't leaving," she says. Suddenly, there is a knock at the door. It's Mullen, who admonishes Raylan for not checking his cell phone. The marshal and his boss have to drive to Cincinnati. "Tell me that wasn't Ava in there," Mullen says. Raylan can tell him no such thing. The pair arrives in Cincinnati and head to an art gallery. They ask about a man named Owen Carnes, who tried to sell some art to the place. Owen apparently stole a bunch of money some years back — a small-time Bernie Madoff. The gallery owner takes the marshals to Owen's home, which contains an extensive art collection. They explain to Owen that all his assets will become property of the U.S. government. The news doesn't faze the man, who shows the gallery owner his "Hitler" paintings. "You mean Adolf Hitler?" Mullen asks. Raylan then questions Owen's young wife — and explains that her husband has been served with an "order of forfeiture." "He thought he was so smart," says Mrs. Carnes, who scoffs at her husband's hobby of collecting paintings by Hitler, the failed artist turned tyrant. "All his Jew lawyers can't help him now. I bet he never told them about this Hitler collection." Offended, Raylan leaves. Back inside, the gallery owner declares the Hitlers to be fakes. Considering he paid $300,000 for the paintings, Owen is angry. After Raylan and Mullen leave, Owen and his wife berate David, the man who sold Owen the Hitler. David claims the gallery owner is lying. "He wants to get them from you for cheap!" David says. Just then, Greg the horse trainer enters — and shoots Owen in the head. David is horrified. "Why?!" he gasps. Snaps the sudden widow: "They can't put a dead man on trial. The case against Owen will be dismissed!" She then warns David that he did sell Owen fake Hitlers — on her suggestion — which would ruin his reputation if revealed. So David agrees to play along. Later, the cops arrive to arrest Owen, but discover him dead — seemingly from a suicide as he is still holding the gun. Raylan isn't buying it, though. He notes that suicide victims go limp and usually fail to hold onto the weapon. The cops asked if he learned that from watching CSI, to which Raylan replies, "Unfortunately, no." But Raylan has bigger problems. Back at the office, he is introduced to agent David Vasquez. "I'm looking into your shootings," Vasquez says. "Would really like to talk to you." Raylan swears that the mobster he shot way back in the first episode "pulled first." In other words, the killing was justified. Now it's Vasquez's turn not to buy it. Later, Winona visits Raylan — and asks for a favor. "I need you to run some names," she said. "I wouldn't ask you this if it wasn't really important." Raylan, after explaining the illegality of such a request, grudgingly agrees. Meanwhile, David is being interviewed by Gutterson, who explains that something was burned in Owen's fireplace the night of his death, but it wasn't the Hitlers. David appears surprised. "We don't know where the paintings are," Gutterson admits. Raylan then visits his ex-wife's new husband, Gary, a realtor. Raylan then begins talking about the state of the housing market "People must be doing some desperate things," the marshal says. "You've seen any of that?" Gary squirms — and with good reason. Raylan pulls the man close and warns him about "dragging" Winona down into any of his illegal shenanigans. Gary appears terrified, which is more than justified given Raylan's history of violence. Cut to David confronting Owen Carnes' wife about the non-burned Hitlers. She explains that she decided to hold onto the paintings as "insurance." Even worse, she demands David's share of the sales: $150,000. "If you don't get it, those paintings will reappear and everyone will know you sold fakes," she sneers. David would appear to have no choice. Later, Raylan visits Mrs. Carnes — and asks about her relationship his horse-trainer Greg. Raylan then asks about the paintings. Which paintings? "The ones you burned in place of your husband's Hitler paintings," Raylan says. Mrs. Carnes flinches — and storms out. Later, Mrs. Carnes runs to Greg. She tells him that Raylan "knows" about the paintings. She then pressures him to deal with David, who has yet to give up the $150,000. After Mrs. Carnes leaves, Raylan enters to talk with Greg. The marshal tells a long story about wanting to shoot his ex-wife's new husband at one point, but "where would it end?" The answer: nowhere good. The horse trainer, who has been holding a pistol on he marshal under the desk (which Raylan surmises) seems to take the story to heart. David soon arrives to find the furniture covered in tarps. Uh oh. Sure enough, Greg punches David out cold before leveling a gun at him. Mrs. Carnes urges the horse trainer to shoot, but he hesitates. Finally, Greg lowers the gun — and announces that he isn't going to do it. The police, who have been waiting in the next room the entire time, enter. "I'm sorry," Greg tells Mrs. Carnes, who is cuffed and led outside. Case closed. But not the episode. Winona visits Raylan at his place — wondering about the names she asked him to run through the system. First, though, Raylan asks her why she left him for Gary, and that she didn't understand what was so much better about Gary. She tells him that with the state of their marriage at the time, she thought he was relieved when she took up with their realtor. He admits he "played his part" in the divorce but tells her that losing a woman like her takes its toll on a man. She looks touched and says that is the first time she's heard him say that. He then explains that he didn't find "anything out of the ordinary" in relation to the names. Winona thanks her ex and then leaves with a smile. Later, Raylan pays a visit to the gallery owner, who explains that his German father once worked for Hitler. "I hated my father," the owner says. "So I buy Hitler's shitty paintings — and I burn them." He shows the marshal his private "art collection," shelves of jars holding the cremains of der Fuhrer's canvases. Finally, Raylan visits Boyd again. "I want you to forget about Arlo," Raylan says. "I met a man whose whole life was crippled. I'm just going to let that old dog lie." Boyd preaches scripture about forgiveness, but then asks what Raylan would have to say if Boyd told him something that would send Arlo to prison for life. Appearances First Appearances #Caryn Carnes - The wife of Owen Carnes, who conspires with Greg and David to kill him to keep her money #Greg Davis - A horse trainer who works for the Carnes, Caryn's lover and Owen's killer, but soon has a change of heart and turns Caryn in #David Mortimer - An art buyer for Owen who schemes with Caryn and Greg to kill Owen #Karl Hanselman - A gallery owner in Cincinnati who buys Hitler paintings and then burns them to spite his deceased father #Agent Frankel - The Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Field Office in Louisville, Kentucky Deaths #Owen Carnes - A embezzler who is under federal indictment with the FBI, U.S. Marshals, and IRS. Shot by Greg Davis. Production Cast Starring cast *Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens *Nick Searcy as Art Mullen *Joelle Carter as Ava Crowder *Jacob Pitts as Tim Gutterson *Erica Tazel as Rachel Brooks *Natalie Zea as Winona Hawkins Guest stars *Katherine LaNasa as Caryn Carnes *Brett Cullen as Greg Davis *Rick Gomez as David Vasquez *Tony Hale as David Mortimer *Peter Jason as Owen Carnes *Robert Picardo as Karl Hanselman *William Ragsdale as Gary Hawkins *Walton Goggins as Boyd Crowder Co-stars *Stefan Marks as an Agent Frankel Gallery S2.jpg External links *List of Justified episodes on Wikipedia - Season 1 section *Justified Episode Guide on FX, Season 1 *"The Collection" at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) Category:Season 1 episodes